Quant III: Labor Economics For Policy St

This course investigates the functioning of the labor market using economic models and micro-economic data.  It will analyze both the behavior of agents in the labor market – workers and firms – and institutions and polices that underpin such behavior. Topics include human capital, skills and education, intergenerational mobility and race, the importance of firm wage policies, income inequality, minimum wages, immigration and temporary migration, collective bargaining and unions in the U.S. and other countries, and role of labor market policies during COVID. Students will conduct the hands-on analysis of real-world labor market data in problem sets. The course will cover econometric methods used by economists in estimating causal effects, including the use of natural experiments, difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity, and instrumental variables.